“It’s nothing to be happy about,” said the woman who started the Justice for Erin group. “Erin is still dead. A child is lost. This can’t bring her back.”

Jones was convicted Thursday of strangling his 11-year-old stepsister, Erin Maxwell, and doing so with depraved indifference. The group that formed in the wake of the girl’s death Aug. 30, 2008, believes it can be a “voice for the voiceless,” said member Allison Ryder, of Palermo.

Erin’s father, Lindsey Maxwell, doesn’t agree.

He said earlier this week he is the only person who can speak for Erin.

Thursday, as he and Lynn Maxwell — Alan Jones’ mother and his wife — drove away from the Oswego County Public Safety Center, he made a nasty gesture to the Justice for Erin group.

Scott, of Granby, said the guilty verdict brought some solace knowing that “someone is being held responsible for this.”

“It’s bittersweet,” she said. “Because the main reason we’re here is because a child was murdered.”

Now that the trial is over, members are assessing some of the positives that resulted from coming together for this cause.

The women at the courthouse Thursday said they have all become friends. Some of them didn’t know each other at all until Erin’s death brought them together.

“We rely on each other now, for general things in life,” said Sue Lanty, of Palermo.

“We’d be there for each other in a minute,” Ryder said.

Perhaps the thing they’ve learned most from the situation is an awareness.

“We’re more aware of how evil the world can be,” said Ryder.

“And we all know what to do now when we hear of a case like this,” Lanty said.

Scott said Justice for Erin will remain active. She said it has to.

The guilty verdict means someone is responsible for Erin’s death. But, “it’s not a victory. We have to keep speaking out.”